White Mage Guide by Fredjan
Category:Guides Support Job Suggestions Scholar Support Job Without a doubt the most beneficial support job for White Mage. You obtain Light Arts and Dark Arts at level 20, along with Penury and Parsimony strategems. At level 50, you obtain the Celerity and Alacrity strategems. You also obtain a 2nd charge at level 60, and you only get up to 2 charges. At level 70, you obtain Sublimation, which has its benefits. It's based on Max HP, and prevents you from being slept when it's charging (it's considered a DoT effect on you). You can be slept, but it'll wake you up if Stoneskin isn't up. Heavily recommended to use when you don't have a Red Mage. With a Red Mage, however, I'd recommend taking their Refresh, as 3mp/tic is more worthwhile than 2. At level 80, you gain Accession and Manifestation. Scholar also has the Conserve MP job trait. Light Arts is MP cost-10%, and casting time-10%. Penury reduces MP cost by 50%. Celerity reduces casting time by 50%. Accession makes the following WHM spells AoE: Cures (up to 4, not recommended with Curagas in the picture), status healing spells, Blink, Stoneskin, Aquaveil, Regen spells, Protect spells, Shell spells (not recommended with the -ra versions usable), Sneak/Invisible/Deodorize, etc. Accession does not work with Haste. With Dark Arts you can also use Aspir on mobs with MP and get worthwhile returns (In Dynamis, I've filled up my MP using Manifestation + Aspir; yes, on White Mage. It was simply put, amazing). You also have access to Dispel under Addendum: Black later on. Basically, if you have Scholar, IMO you don't need to sub anything else for White Mage, especially Red Mage. Convert isn't better than everything /Scholar can offer you. Having Refresh 1 is moot when you can get Refresh II from a RDM. Sublimation gets overwritten by Refresh II, but that's hardly an issue. The job was designed to be the efficiency support job, and should be used at all times. -Addition 7/19/2011 - Late!- Since cap went to 90, Sublimation is now 2HP:3MP/tic (SCH45), which is pretty much the same as Refresh. -TL;DR- Pros: - Light Arts/Dark Arts- Guaranteed MP savings and improved casting time - Able to half MP cost, half casting time, or AoE certain spells - Sublimation protects you from sleep while charging. Cons: - Arts switching (can be problematic occasionally, but hardly a hinderance) - Unable to cast Dispel without Dark Arts+Addendum: Black, effectively taking longer to cast it vs. /RDM - If you take a lot of damage, Sublimation will no longer charge up (If HP goes below 50%) Overall Rating: 10/10 regardless of level Do *not* sub anything else if you want to play WHM seriously AND efficiently. Anyone who says /RDM is better neglects everything /SCH offers. Red Mage Support Job Only appealing after level 79, it has Convert at 80 and Refresh at 82. Some view this as the best support job, however I strongly disagree. Red Mage support job essentially offers nothing but Convert at 80 level cap and after 82 it's a question of "Is a Red Mage with you?" Fast Cast is cute, but it isn't worth the support job choice, and a /Scholar can cast much faster with Celerity, making it redundant. Refresh at 82 is situationally nice to have though, and at times, it could be useful. Red Mage used to offer Dispel on its own, but Scholar offers that as well. All in all, the support job's main benefit is Convert, and it's something I view as a last resort for MP, not a necessity. I suppose it could also be noted that this sub grants Phalanx, which comes in handy for a small handful of things. For the most part, however, I would not suggest Red Mage support job to anyone under level 80, the other support jobs, especially Scholar, have far greater benefits overall. Basically, I feel there's zero reason to be WHM/RDM below 80 in events or EXP parties. Even at 85, I still don't sub Red Mage. Honestly... I tend to feel any White Mage who subs Red Mage is a "Pink Mage", and I feel the same way about the opposite combination (RDM/WHM). They're missing out on the efficiency that is Scholar sub. Red Mage isn't a terrible subjob, but it isn't the best. If you have access to Abyssea, you have the ability to level Scholar, since it requires Wings of the Goddess. -TL;DR- Pros: - Refresh (110MP every time its casted and allowed to wear off due to the MP cost) - Convert - Fast Cast II Cons: - No Auto-Refresh or Conserve MP Rating: 8/10 Post 82, 4/10 Pre-80, 6/10 @ 80-81 Not bad, but not the best. Definitely the second best after 82, so-so at 80-81. If you sub Red Mage below 80 I'm going to laugh at you. It's EASILY the WORST support job choice out of the 4 options I've cared to list before that point. Black Mage Support Job Not something I'd recommend. It used to have Conserve MP on its own at /BLM20, but like Red Mage with Dispel, Scholar also has this. At this time, Black Mage support job is only useful for Elemental Seal if one'd need it that badly for something, as well as Sleepga. I feel "I sub BLM for Warp" isn't a valid excuse, ever, nor should it be. Having Tractor is situational I guess, but other jobs should have this covered. Overall, I feel the main benefit of BLM support job was Conserve MP. Post-85 cap: You can now cast Stun using this support job choice, meaning you can benefit from this sub more than before. -TL;DR- Pros: - Ability to cast Stun at 90 (main reason to use this support job now) - Conserve MP (/SCH also has this.) Cons: - Lacks Arts to make it as decent as /SCH sub. Rating: If you actually PLAN to cast Stun, 8/10. Can prove useful and save a bit of MP. Otherwise, 5/10. Don't sub this if you have /RDM or /SCH leveled unless you want to use Stun. NEVER SUB BLM FOR WARP OR TRACTOR IN AN EVENT, PLEASE (I have seen people use this reasoning, and honestly, it's not valid, I'm sorry). Don't be lazy, Warp Scrolls are extremely cheap and Warp Cudgels have a 1 hour reuse timer. Summoner Support Job Like Black Mage, not something I'd recommend. It does have Auto-Refresh at /SMN25 and the highest MP boost of any support job, but that's it. You could situationally use avatar blood pact: wards for cute stuff, but all in all it's not really worth the hassle in my view. -TL;DR- Pros: - Auto-Refresh? - Highest MP pool (fairly invalid reasoning honestly) Cons: - Lacks Conserve MP and everything the other support jobs have. Rating: 3/10 Summary Once I tried Scholar, I didn't go back. I tried it before it was even 25 let alone 30+ or 35+, and found it better than Black Mage or Summoner. At 90, Summoner is easily the worst support job. It's not going to offer you anything remotely worthwhile. Just flat out don't use it. In my view: (If you don't cast Stun /BLM) Scholar > Red Mage > Black Mage > Summoner (If you make proper use of Stun /BLM) Scholar > Black Mage > Red Mage > Summoner Spell List White Mage Spell List Gear Instead of listing every item known to us that White Mage can equip, I will give a general idea of what to go for. The following stats are important: MP, Enmity- (caps at -50), MND, Cure potency (50% cap), MP recovered while healing. Stats like HP have use for more than just HP (Devotion, Martyr, etc). VIT and Healing Skill barely improve cures, so don't gear for those. MP is important, but it shouldn't be the stat you focus on in cure sets at higher levels. Enmity- has a much higher importance, as does even MND on Cure V+. You should always wear any cure potency gear you have for cures. Healing magic skill gear should never be worn, nor should it be merited. It has such a minimal impact on cures, and it only helps them prevent from being interrupted. It may help Cursna remove Doom, but there's no real evidence to support that. MP recovered while healing is important, and it's worth it to carry as much as you can reasonably carry. The more gear you have for it, the faster you recover your MP. Cure potency, like I said, should be a first priority obtaining and putting to use for all cures. When I leveled White Mage, the first cure potency staff was a Light Staff. Now there's some available as early as in the late 20s. Here's a list, taken from the cure potency page, with the stuff WHM can't equip not on the list. : There's things that can be augmented with Cure potency as well. : There's many ways to obtain the 50% cure potency cap, as the max available totals up to 62-63%. Aim for the solution that works best for you. Job Abilities :*Benediction ::*Level: 1 ::*Recast timer: 2:00:00 ::*Uses: Completely restores HP of all targets in range and cures them of any status ailments, though there are exceptions. It also has a small chance of removing Doom, just like Cursna. :*Divine Seal ::*Level: 15 (30 for people subbing White Mage) ::*Recast timer: 0:15:00 ::*Uses: Doubles potency of your next cure based spell. If the next spell you cast is a status removal spell, it becomes an Area of Effect spell. It does not improve anything else. :*Afflatus Solace ::*Level: 40 (WHM Exclusive) ::*Recast timer: 0:01:00 ::*Duration: 2:00:00 ::*Uses: A record is stored from each Cure spell you cast, including Benediction and Martyr. Cures done with Cura and Curaga aren't counted. It increases the amount of status ailments you can transfer to you using Sacrifice. It also grants a magic defense boost on a specific element when using a barspell. The magic defense bonus is applied to the element matching the barspell. Casting Cures 1-6 with Afflatus Solace up grants a stoneskin effect based on the amount the Cure would've done, even if it fills up the HP sooner than that. It is also boosted from Divine Seal. "Cureskin" seems to have a cap of 300. Also, the "recorded amount" from curing can be used to boost Holy damage up to 3.5-4x. :*Afflatus Misery ::*Level: 40 (WHM Exclusive) ::*Recast timer: 0:01:00 ::*Duration: 2:00:00 ::*Uses: Improves spells based on most recent damage taken. It isn't "recorded" and "added up", only the most recent damage taken counts. This only directly improves Cura spells, as well as Banish spells. With it up, Esuna will remove up to 2 statuses, and while Auspice is up, grants an enlight effect to the White Mage only. Merits Group 1 *Divine Seal Recast (-20 seconds per upgrade) *Cure Cast Time (-4% cast time of all Cure spells per upgrade) *Bar Spell Effect (+2 potency of Bar spells, +2 Magic Defense Bonus per upgrade) *Banish Effect (+2 damage, +2 seconds duration of Defense Down effect per upgrade) *Regen Spell Effect (+1 HP/tick recovered per upgrade) Group 2 *Martyr (-2 minutes 30 seconds recast per upgrade) *Devotion (-2 minutes 30 seconds recast per upgrade) *Protectra V (+2 defense per upgrade) *Shellra V (~-0.8% Magic Damage Taken per upgrade) Recommendations Group 1: I personally maxed Barspell effect and regen effect. Barspells when used right can help reduce a lot of magic damage saving a lot of MP. Regen has always been a way to save MP compared to cures. Banish merits are cute, but I barely cast Banish. Cure Cast time merits aren't something I feel necessary with Cure Clogs, other cure spellcasting time- gear, and /Scholar. I also don't feel meriting Divine Seal is necessary either. Group 2: Ideally, it's best to max Devotion and Shellra V. Martyr is nice at times, and I personally feel Protectra V is a waste of merits. If it was actual physical damage reduction, yeah, it'd be more worth it. The difference between Protectra IV and Protectra V is very minimal. I merited it, for the sake of having it, and that's about it. Empyrean Armor Released in the September 2010 update, the stats on these will make any White Mage eager for them in an instant. See the main WHM page to find stats of all armor, including the cape, earring, and necklace. Every piece is extremely useful, and I'll cover my views on each +2 item. Orison Cap +2: Who WOULDN'T use this? 50 MP, MND+10, and Cure Potency +10% all in ONE ITEM? It's got WHM stats worth drooling at. The occasional Divine Veil Yagrush-like proc is nice as well. Orison Bliaud +2: Now, one may say, "WTF, no Cure Potency? I am disappointed." My response: STOP! It's the best body for White Mage right now. Why, you ask? It's simple: Cure Potency is decently obtainable in every other slot, making it possible to cap without a body. Do that, use this body, gain the solace boost (improved stoneskin from cures, improved magic defense against a barspell's element, etc., etc) and enjoy it. Refresh is 2mp/tic as well. Orison Mitts +2: Excellent Regen piece. You may say, "Why cast Regen?" It's not as bad as some people like to give Regen credit for. It'd only make more sense to use gear to enhance it, regardless of how often it's used. Divine Caress improvement's nice too. Orison Pantaloons +2: Who WOULDN'T use this? The MP recovered based on HP cured is HUGE. Say you cure for 1540, that nets you 77 MP back. If you are /SCH and use Cure VI with Penury... you just casted a Cure VI for ~25 MP (Penury Cure VI cost: 102 MP-77 MP based on AF3+2 effect and total HP cured: Remaining MP used: 25 MP, not factoring in further Conserve MP procs). Seriously. +2 these bad boys and like it, you'll never use another pair of pants curing. Orison Duckbills +2: Very good barspell/Auspice piece. Excellent for MND if one lacks Marduk's Crackows. Set bonus effect: Occasionally makes damage taken equal to the barspell's element 0. I personally cast Barspells with 4/5 AF3+2 on and Cleric's Pantaloons. Rest of the gear's boosting Enhancing skill when able. Relic, Mythic, and Empyrean Weapons I'll cover Mythic first, because it's the one a WHM will want to aim for for you know, White *Mage*'ing. Yagrush (Mythic) Yagrush may be extremely difficult to obtain, but the 100% Divine Veil without Divine Seal being required is far worth the effort invested, as well as the additional "Divine Benison" boosts later on. I won't cover the Aftermath effect, because I'd never melee stuff with Yagrush in my main hand. Rating (Mage Efficiency): 10/10 Rating (Melee Efficiency): 5/10 (there's far better weapons) Rating (Obtainment Difficulty): Very High Mjollnir (Relic) If you want to be a melee WHM, this is for you. It's the best weapon for that role. You don't use this playing a back-line WHM. Want MP back? You've got Mystic Boon. Want to do high damage? Use Hexa Strike. Want to use Randgrith? Go ahead. I own the level 90 form of this weapon, and it's awesome. 81 base DMG and +35 attack is very nice. Rating (Mage Efficiency): N/A Rating (Melee Efficiency): 10/10 Rating (Obtainment Difficulty): High Gambanteinn (Empyrean) This is the second best melee weapon for WHM. Dagan restores HP and MP based on your max HP and MP, percentage based on TP. However, it's weaker than Mystic Boon if your goal is to focus on MP completely. Rating (Mage Efficiency): N/A Rating (Melee Efficiency): 7/10 Rating (Obtainment Difficulty): Medium More to come I will update this after the level cap increases to 95. Until then, that's it for now. Version 1.0 - Initial version. Covers up to level 80 cap, while including level 85 spells we're getting. Version 1.1 - Covers 85 cap, introduced Empyrean Armor section Version 1.2 - Covers 90 cap, introduced Relic/Mythic/Empyrean Weapon section